Page 15 of Finding Delaware

There are people everywhere. The house that Christian lives in with his mom and five siblings isn’t the biggest—it’s asmall two-bedroom, one-bath near the edge of town. However, an empty parking lot backs up the yard, so it’s perfect for when we want to do tricks off the ramp we built and have a few friends over.

Well, in this case, more than a few.

‘Drag Me Down’ by Breathe Carolina thumps from someone’s shitty speakers, shouts ringing out from a game of beer pong near the back door. Groups of people are scattered throughout the lawn, and a fire pit is burning in an old barrel, where everyone is tossing their trash. Some of them I recognize from our high school, and some I’m sure are from the next town over.

“You good, Tay?” Christian’s sweaty face appears in my swimming vision, and I flash a sloppy smile with a thumbs up. My stomach still churns slightly, but throwing up made me feel ten times better.

He chuckles, reaching down to pull me to my feet before slapping my chest. “That’s what I’m talking about! My turn.”

On unstable feet, I watch a group of our football buddies help lift Christian’s bike onto the top of the house, and a disbelieving laugh bubbles out of me.

Fuuuck, I can’t believe I just jumped off of that while shitfaced. Can’t believe we secured the ramp to theroof. It’s why he’d wanted me to come over early. Not only had it taken hours to get the ramp safely secured, but we’d needed to make sure the angle of the pit was just right so that we didn’t splatter ourselves all over the grass. It was reckless as hell, but I was powerless to resist when Christian came up with his ideas.

My best friend takes his place on his bike on the ridge of the roof, revving the engine. Using the downslope as anadvantage, he guns it toward the incline, wheels catching air. Pulling back, he lets go of the handlebars to throw up two middle fingers as he backflips once. Twice. Three fucking times before landing upright in the pit.

“FUCK YEAH, MOTHERFUCKER!”

The crowd erupts into cheers as everyone swarms the pool, me included, and I’m reaching in to yank him out by his shirt as a massive grin splits his face.

“You did it, you crazy asshole,” I shout ecstatically, pulling too hard so that we topple over onto the ground, taking Matty with us and thankfully missing my pile of puke. An elbow hits my rib, and I wheeze, shoving Matt’s massive linebacker body off of me.

“You two are fucking insane.” His dark blue eyes dance with laughter as he falls onto Christian. “That was terrifying.”

“The adrenaline rush, though.” Christian pushes him back, making me wince when Matty’s entire body weight crushes me, but he’s pulled off in an instant when his best friend hauls him up.

Xed grins down at me, green hair spiked into a mohawk, his ring-covered fingers pulling me to my feet. Another engine revs, getting our attention, and we watch someone else jump from the roof, whipping their bike to the side before landing in the pit.

Thisis what I fucking live for. Heart-pumping, gut-wrenching tricks and jumps that make my stomach fall out of my ass. Yeah, racing is fun, and I need to compete to get my professional license eventually, but free-style motocross is what lights my soul on fire. The reason I breathe and the only part of this place that makes dealing with my father worth it.

Because when I win that race at the end of the school year and get my scholarship, I can register for the national championship finals. And when I win that? I’ll go pro, baby.

Me and Christian. This shitty town will be nothing but a memory for us.

A hand grips the back of my neck as someone shakes me out of my thoughts, and my best friend’s hazel eyes come into view. “What’s going on with you, Tay? You’re ditzy lately.”

“I’m not ditzy, I’m drunk.” I wiggle out of his grip. “Anyone got a smoke?”

Xed pulls a pack out of his leather jacket pocket and hands me one, lighting it when I put it to my lips. Running my hands through my hair, I inhale deeply, feeling heated and feverish despite the slight bite of fall in the breeze.

“Shit. Valerie alert.” Christian whacks Matty on the chest, who groans before ducking behind me.

“Don’t let her see me.”

“You’re built like a fucking tank, man. Everyone here can see you.”

Right on cue, a nasally feminine voice calls out his name, and he swears under his breath before taking off toward the parking lot to hide behind someone’s car.

“You can’t run from love, Matty,” Xed hollers, snickering as our friend’s ex-girlfriend hurries after him. I feel slightly bad for the guy. Valerie’s gorgeous, but she’s fucking insane.

Seriously. She cut his breaks one night when he tried to break up with her.

“Must be a full moon or something, cuz the bitches are out.” Christian points a finger behind me, and my stomach does a weird flip until I see Salem leaning against the side ofthe house with Brad, their lips locked in battle. Something like disappointment has my shoulders drooping, which just confuses me. Who was I expecting to see?

A certain mop of blond curls, maybe…

“You want me to kick them out?”

“What?” I turn back to Christian with a smirk, puffing on my cigarette. “No, why would I?”

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